Hannah

January 11, 2010
At the turn of the century, 15-year-old Hannah Albury is sent on an "orphan train" to Kansas, where she is consumed by longing for the ocean. This longing soon turns to illness, as her skin begins to flake in tiny, iridescent crystals. Persuading her benefactors to send her back to Boston, she is hired as a scullery maid. Domestic work brings Hannah the opportunity to experience many marvelous things, but what draws and troubles her most are portrait painter Stannish Whitman Wheeler, who seems to understand her in uncanny ways, and the eldest daughter of the house, Lila Hawley, whose malice is equally inexplicable. Lasky is at her best in evoking Hannah's aquatic preoccupation and the way it molds her perception of everything around her. The story's plot seems to take a backseat to historical detail: while readers will likely suspect the revelations to come, they are a long time in arriving, and the story offers little in the way of closure. This is the first in Lasky's planned Daughters of the Sea series, with plenty left open for later titles. Ages 9â12.

October 1, 2009
Gr 4-6-In this first book in a projected series, orphan Hannah, 15, tries to find success as a scullery maid in an upscale Boston household at the end of the 19th century. In addition to having to learn new rules and skills, she must contend with the family's three daughters, including demanding Lila and her sinister cat. Hannah knows that she is differentshe leaves salt in the bathtub, becomes physically ill when away from the sea, and seems to be shedding odd crystals. When a famous painter arrives to do a portrait of the three sisters, he immediately senses Hannah's secrets but will not give her answers. Because Lasky stretches the mystery of Hannah's nature throughout the book, her decision regarding where she belongs becomes rushed and anticlimactic. The heart of the story lies in the day-to-day activities of the Hawley household, especially the lengths the family and staff go to to appease Lila, and the destruction she causes whenever she does not get her way. The resolution of this story will appear weak to some readers, but many will identify with independent and winsome Hannah as she tries to find her place in the world."Jennifer Rothschild, Prince George's County Memorial Library System, Oxon Hill, MD"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2009
Grades 4-8 Stricken by a mysterious malady when she is sent westward on an orphan train, 15-year-old Hannah instinctively knows that she can be cured by proximity to the ocean. She returns to Boston and takes a position as a scullery maid in a wealthy household, where a young artist comes to paint a portrait of her employers three daughters. A mysterious, rather romantic figure, he seems to see into Hannahs soul. Slowly, she becomes aware that she is transforming into a daughter of the sea. The first book in a series about sisters separated at birth, this novel has menacing, almost gothic overtones as well as a strong sense of time, place, and class distinctions. Elements within the painting, which sounds similar to John Singer Sargents Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, become pivotal points in the setting and the story. Nicely designed, this compelling novel has an attractive jacket illustration showing a rather modern-looking Hannah in her element, the sea.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)